The Latest: Bear suspected in Colorado attack killed

Updated 9:39 am, Monday, May 14, 2018

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — The Latest on a girl attacked by a bear in Colorado (all times local):

10:35 a.m.

Wildlife officers have killed a bear suspected of attacking a 5-year-old Colorado girl outside her home Sunday.

Mike Porras, a spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said Monday that officers killed a bear seen overnight walking up to a home about a half-mile away from where the girl was attacked. They set three traps to catch the bear but they killed it before the animal could enter one.

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Three traps have been set up for a bear that attacked a 5 year old girl. Veuer's Natasha Abellard (@NatashaAbellard)

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Wildlife officers are confident the bear is the one that attacked the girl based on its appearance and behavior. Authorities won't know for sure until its body, including DNA, is analyzed at a laboratory.

The traps will remain in place in the meantime.

The girl is expected to make a full recovery.

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9:50 a.m.

A 5-year-old Colorado girl attacked by a bear outside her home is in good condition.

A spokeswoman for St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Teri Cavanagh, said Monday that doctors expect the unidentified girl to "mend very well" after suffering apparent bite wounds in Sunday's attack.

The girl was attacked after she went outside to check on what she thought were noises coming from her dog. Her mother went out when she heard screaming. She says the bear dropped the girl after she began screaming at the animal, a move credited with possibly saving her life.

Pediatric surgeon Charles Breaux Jr. told reporters Sunday that the bear apparently bit her on her back side but she didn't have any injuries to her brain or organs or suffer any fractures. He says she received dozens of stiches internally and externally.

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8:35 a.m.

A doctor treating a 5-year-old Colorado girl attacked by a bear outside her home says she didn't suffer any life-threatening injuries but had apparent bite wounds.

The unidentified girl was attacked early Sunday near Grand Junction, about 240 miles (386 kilometers) west of Denver, when she went outside to check on what she thought were noises coming from her dog. Her mother went out when she heard screaming. She says the bear dropped the girl after she began screaming at the animal, a move credited with possibly saving her life.

Pediatric surgeon Charles Breaux Jr. said the bear apparently bit her on her back side but she didn't have any injuries to her brain or organs or suffer any fractures. He says she received dozens of stiches internally and externally.